Stolen Kisses, Pretty Lies

~Chapter 24~

"1989 you better fucking wake up."

The first feeling I was swamped with was a stabbing headache, which made me clench my jaw and lift a hand to my head.

A sharp breath of relief sounded from somewhere in front of me. "Oh thank god."

I opened my eyes slowly, light forcing my eyes into blinking quickly to adjust.

When I was finally able to see, I was taken aback by a face directly in front of mine. Electric blue eyes were staring into my eyes, making me jump and move back.

"Jesus-" I muttered, rubbing my eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Checking your pupillary reflexes," Reputation chirped, now sitting back.

"You don't know how to check that, Rep."

I looked up as another voice caught my attention.

Lover was entering the room. The sight of her made me a little happier, I hadn't seen her in a while.

She smiled at me as she closed the door behind her. "Hey, Nine."

I frowned. "Why aren't you at school?"

The two looked at each other before Rep spoke up.

"School finished 45 minutes ago," her dark brows furrowed. "Don't tell me you've been asleep on my bed all day."

I fell silent, scrambling to wrap my head around what I'd done. Barely able to remember this morning, I blinked, my mind still in a haze. Nothing felt real, like I was just watching my life go by. It was a sort of dizziness, a fog over my thoughts.

Lover plopped down beside me, shuffling close. "It's okay, Nine. We just told your teachers you were home sick."

I nodded, trying to shake off the bleariness behind my eyes. "Is my phone around here somewhere?"

Rep nodded and chucked it towards me. I sighed when I saw the many missed calls and messages. Going through them, I was able to work out that my dad was frantic, and had been trying to reach me all day. As much as I didn't want to talk to him, I knew I couldn't afford the police pulling up in the neighbourhood, so I quickly typed out a dry message saying I was safe and fine.

"I should probably go home," I mumbled, rubbing my face.

"No, you should not go anywhere unless it's a hospital," the girl on the bed beside me rested a hand on my thigh, her tone stern.

My eyes widened with alarm. "What?"

Rep stepped closer before tugging her hoodie off and tossing it on the bed. It was hot in here, I noticed all of a sudden. "You're fuck-" she started angrily.

Her girlfriend chimed in before she could continue. "Language."

Rep huffed and restarted her sentence. "You're bloody emaciated, man." By the end of her words, she looked a little more broken. There was something in her eyes. Something scared.

"We brought you some fruit..." Lover murmured, picking up a bowl from the bedside table. Her expression was pleading.

Immediately I shrunk into myself, anxiety flooding through my veins. "Please don't make me," I whispered.

"Nine... it's this, or you sit in a hospital and have shit put straight into your veins, I'm serious." Rep's voice cracked as she attempted to keep a firm tone. I hadn't ever realised this might hurt her too. It might hurt all of them. It might hurt Midnights. Except, it already had. I'd hurt her. The image of her face after I'd pulled away from her touch, walked away from her without an explanation crept into my mind, bringing a rush of guilt along with it.

"We're right here," a hand picked up mine and I gazed into Lover's soft eyes. "You can't keep running anymore, and we're here to make it a little easier, if we can."

"I... have a problem," my words were small, almost silent. But they were me admitting. I admitted it to myself.

Lover's hand moved to my back. "Are you ready to try?"

I took a deep breath, held it in my lungs for a moment, and then exhaled. After a second of hesitation, I nodded.

My heart pounded in my chest as Lover placed the bowl in my lap.

"It will be easier if you do it quickly," she advised, stabbing a piece of watermelon onto the fork. "Here."

With a shaking hand I grasped the utensil, watching as watery juice trickled down the stainless steel. I froze, unable to move, before dropping the fork back into the bowl.

"I can't do it," I held back tears of frustration. I didn't understand, how could something so simple become such a big deal?

"You can, and you will," Rep replied, her emotions back under control. Her eyes held a ferocity, dangling the threat of seeing a medical professional above me.

"You don't understand," I snapped, suddenly angry at her despite knowing she was only helping after all.

"You don't get to talk to me that way after telling me off for doing the same thing time and time again," she shot back. Lover murmured her name softly, telling her to calm down, only to be given a look. Rep stepped closer to me and continued. "I went through something hard once. I wasn't wrecking my body the same way you were, but I was doing so all the same. It's hard. It's really, really, fucking hard. And it's not fair, and it's not your fault. I understand, Nine. And I know you remember how hard you fought to fix me. I'm not as good at doing all the comforting stuff, but I can tell you that you're strong, and that I'm going to do as much as I can to help you out, but in the end, it's down to you."

Our eyes were locked as she exhaled, cooling off after her rant.

"Do you want to get better?" Rep asked, her voice soft, but firm.

I chewed my lip, building up the courage. I breathed my tears away, and a new determination trickled into my heart and mind. "I do."

"Good. Now eat."

~~

Grammys were a SCAM. Booooooooooo. Tay looked amazeballs though.